Page 67 of Chaos Unleashed

“It’s okay, Reaper,” Storm says, and then adds, “Ryu, we won’t let them get their hands on you again.”

“You’re so much stronger than you were before. They wouldn’t be able to capture you,” Kill adds, his voice soothing.

The words don’t seem to be helping though and Reaper’s whole body starts to vibrate with the need to change, even I know that it would be really bad for him to change in this emotional state. So, I follow my instincts and make my way toward him.

“Go carefully, Farren,” Loki warns, although he doesn’t stop me.

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Khaos adds.

I roll my eyes, although I can't blame him for his warning. I am about to approach an almost out-of-control dragon and a very fucking strong one at that. I don’t say anything as I simply wrap my arms around him, rest my head on his chest, and hold him tightly. His reaction is immediate as he stops shaking, and his arms wrap around me, his head coming to rest on the top of mine.

“I’ll never get used to the way that she can so easily calm him,” Zev mutters, shaking his head, “the outcome if she hadn’t would’ve been bad, really fucking bad.”

I ignore them as I pull back slightly so I can look up at Reaper, “I don’t know what is going on, but we can figure this out. If we really do have to go to the Dragon realm, then maybe only some of us go, and you can stay in the Shadowlands. You should know that if you do decide to go, I will personally take apart anyone who has or wants to harm you piece by piece until they’re begging for death, and even then, I won’t give it to them.”

“Okay, that was a little scary,” Loki mutters and then adds, “but super fucking hot.”

“Agreed, it’s incredibly hot when she shows how bloodthirsty she is,” surprisingly, Khaos is the one to agree.

Reaper’s arms tighten around me. He nods once, “I will not allow any of you to go there without my protection, but I will admit that I may find it difficult. I was abandoned, imprisoned, and tortured for most of my childhood there until I thought I was saved, brought to the Fae realm, and subjected to the same thing.”

My blood boils with anger; I know that there is far more to the story and that he is telling it in such a casual way because it still greatly affects him, which is evidenced by the fact that the mere mention of us having to go there almost made him shift.

I squeeze him tightly, “As I said, we’ll figure it out. We may not have to go. For now, I think we should focus on one thing at a time. The first thing we need to do is get through the Soul side of the Underworld safely and get back to the Shadowlands; then we can figure out our next step.”

“She’s right,” Rival says, “we can figure it out when we get there.”

Before Reaper can reply, Khaos adds, “I’ve been to the Dragon Realm several times, in fact, over the centuries, and you have nothing to worry about, power-wise; you’re one of the strongest dragons that I’ve felt for a long time.”

“Even for an alpha, your power level is really high,” Grey adds.

“Alpha?” Reaper questions as he turns me so that I’m pressed into his side instead, his arms still around me, but now I can see the others as well.

Grey tilts his head, “Yes, you weren’t aware of that?”

“I have been in the Fae realm since I was a child; I can count on one hand the dragons that I have met since, and none of them were willing to share any information with me. The dragons are so secretive with what information outsiders have that all I know about my own kind are things that I remember from before I left, things that I have first-hand experience in, and what we’re taught in the schools in the Fae realm.” Reaper explains, “I know that Alphas exist for dragons, but that’s it. It doesn’t tell you what the signs of an alpha are, or their gifts or anything like that because they’re hunted.”

“Wow, stupid prideful dragons,” Khaos mutters, disbelief in his tone. “To not teach one of their own just because of where they live is just stupid.”

“But not unexpected,” Mayhem points out and then adds, “as soon as Reaper became one of us, I did as much research as I possibly could on dragons, hoping to help him and to learn more as well; I was extremely frustrated by the lack of information.”

Khaos nods, “Yeah, they’re pretty fucking good at keeping shit to themselves.”

Reaper nods, “I’m better now. We can cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, how are we going to get to the Soul side?”

It’s obvious that he wants to change the subject, and I can’t say that I blame him.

“I can open the door here, and we can all step through. I’m not going to take the glamour off until we’re on that side, but from what Monty said, I’m going to have to do it pretty quickly to make sure that we’re not dealt with.”

“We all need to be prepared that we’re going to have a delay as everyone reacts to Hades being back, but there are only a few Helliers and Underworlders on that side, so it’s not like a whole realm reacting. They’re also the best of the best, so it should go smoother than it would if he were to be announced here,” Khaos explains.

“Got it,” Storm replies for all of us and then adds, “Is there anything that we need to know?”

“We’re going to be entering into the communal area, which is where all the souls can choose to socialise if they wish to, I can explain more when we’re there,” Grey explains.

“Could you not zap us straight to where the exit back to the Shadowlands is?” Loki asks, “That way we could avoid all of the drama of them realising that you’re back?”

“One, they’re going to know as soon as I step foot in the Soul side, even if it’s for only a moment, so it’s going to cause a reaction regardless, and two, there’s only a few ways to get into the Soul side of the Underworld as it has to remain as secure as possible, I’m going to transport us as close to the door as I can but we’re still going to have to travel for a few hours maybe a day or so in order to get us to the door that we can exit through,” Hades explains.

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